Betting and other Newbury, United Kingdom Local Custom Tips

The simplest bet is to win - that is, you stake a sum on your fancied horse and if it wins you collect your stake plus a bonus according to the odds offered - if you bet one pound on a horse quoted at 7-1 you get your one pound back plus 7 pounds from the bookmaker.

An Each Way bet is in fact two bets, one to win and one to place. It's a kind of insurance policy - if your horse doesn't win but comes 2nd or 3rd (or 4th in handicap races with a big field), you get 1/4 or 1/5 of the odds according to the bookmaker. Clearly it's not worth betting Each Way at odds shorter than 5-1.

By the way, it's not possible to make a place bet alone, except on The Tote.

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These are not normally available at course bookmakers but are common bets at off-course bookies. Sometimes I enjoy having a Patent to add some spice to a dull afternoon at work, though I'm not adventurous enough for the more elaborate bets! When combinations come off you can make a lot of money - though it's more likely that you will get a small amount back. It's risky - know what you are doing!

A Patent is a bet on three horses in different races (maybe at different meetings), made up of three straight Win bets, three doubles and a triple, making seven bets in all. So a one pound Patent will cost you 7 pounds.

A Yankee is a bet on four horses - eleven separate bets (6 doubles, 4 triples, 1 quadruple). There are no singles in a Yankee - it simply isn't worth it, though a Yankee with the four singles is available and is called a Super 15.

A Canadian involves five horses. 10 doubles, 10 triples, five quadruples and a quintuple.

A Heinz is six horses. It doesn't take a genius or a mathematical wizard to guess that there are 57 bets in a Heinz, though just to prove I can do it, it's 15 doubles, 20 triples, 15 quadruples, 6 quintuples and a sextuple.

With seven or more horses, my brain starts hurting...

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